Do we value our freedom? If we do, we can't misuse and abuse our freedom. But that's what we exactly do. Strangely, when we are in another country, we do neither. But the moment we set foot in India, we start to misuse and abuse our freedom

IT IS of great astonishment to me that even after so many years of independence and freedom, we do not really comprehend the meaning as well as value of freedom. What is freedom as far as we are concerned? Let me take you through some scenarios:

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1.Some of our fellow Indians arriving from international destinations make no bones about spitting on the tarmac of the airport, soon after disembarking. Why is it so? The person concerned does not have respect for his own nation. He would not have done this in the international city he flew in from.

2.Everyday when we hit the road, we find that some person or the other has parked his car or other vehicle in such a way that it obstructs the flow of traffic. If asked to park the vehicle properly, the person feels insulted. He / She feels that freedom means the right to do anything in a public place.

3.An Indian, whether a common man or an influential person, will not think twice before passing a comment on another’s gender, clan, caste, colour, creed, region, religion, language, etc. Every Indian feels he/she has the freedom to pass such comments.

What does behaviour and attitude of the kind highlighted above suggest? Well, it’s simple. We do not value our freedom. Misuse of rights is freedom, as far as we are concerned. We start blaming others for all the chaos but we ourselves create the said chaos in the first place. It is our mindset which needs to change .If we really need to progress in all senses of the word, then it has to start with our mindset. Yes, the mindset of our citizens, present and future and of leaders is also crucial from the point of view of our children. They emulate the present generation. The change can come about only when we learn to value our freedom and persuade others to do so.

A nation is characterised by the people who live in it. Our country is what we have made of it. The father of the nation stressed that we should bring about the change that we wish to see. So, let’s promise to ourselves that we will change and it will in turn lead to a change in our environment, viz, our locality, our city, our state and our country .